Ep. #14: Anecdotes and stories of the most impressive diamonds.

✨ Discovered in 1905 in a South African mine, the Cullinan is the world's largest rough diamond, weighing 3106 carats, or about 620 grams!

It was given to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, and it is said to have been sent to him by post.
The diamond was cut into several stones (9 large stones and 96 small ones), the largest of which is the Cullinan I or Great Star of Africa, a 74-faceted pear weighing 530 carats.
It is now set in the British Imperial Sceptre and displayed at the Tower of London.

✨ The "new" one: in early June 2021, an exceptional 1,098-carat diamond was discovered in Botswana. It is the 3rd largest diamond after the Lesedi la Rona and its 1,109 carats.

✨ The Briolette of India... the impostor!
A bit of history: a 90-carat Indian Briolette diamond is said to have been purchased at the end of the 12th century by Eleanor of Aquitaine. It then belonged to Richard the Lionheart, then to Henry II's mistress and wife, Catherine de Medicis.

But unfortunately, this is just a beautiful story! It has been shown that this diamond was discovered at the end of the 19th century in South African mines.

Despite the deception, surely orchestrated to increase the value of this diamond, it has retained all its popularity, and remains one of the most beautiful briolette-cut diamonds in the world.

✨ At the end of the 17th century, King Louis XIV had a 112-carat diamond of intensely deep blue from India re-cut to reveal a sun at its center: this is the Blue Diamond of the Crown.

Stolen in 1792 and re-cut, its trace was found 20 years later in England under the name Hope, the name of its owner. However, this magnificent diamond has a reputation for being cursed: it is said to have brought debt and tragic deaths to its owners.

It was exhibited at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington starting in 1958 and is now the second most visited art object in the world.